Top Indian songs of the week 30th Oct 2022

This is the week's best of Indian music across languages and states, covering more than 350 song releases from movie albums and the independent space

1. Alle 

Music: Ramesh Narayan

Vocals: Haricharan

Lyrics: Beeyar Prasad

Language: Malayalam

Genre: Melody

Maybe this genius of a composer is like one of those Carnivores that only hunt when hungry. I mean Ramesh Narayan is a fantastic composer who is an expert in the field of Indian Classical music and when he scores in Malayalam movies, it becomes something to celebrate and treasure, if only he would give us that pleasure with more frequent projects. This week itself, we have two songs from the album 'Bermuda' with this Haricharan song topping India's charts. Some enticing notes get played on the acoustic guitars by Sanu PS and then Haricharan makes the grand entrance on vocals. He does possess one of the most likable, gifted and technically correct vocals in the Indian music space and it comes on full display here. You just have to nod your head in approval when he asks " Sugam alle" meaning "Yes everything is fine when we hear his voice". The string section is an important part of the sound that we hear in the song and it is by the Inspired Symphony Orchestra in Budapest. These segments in the opening lines remind me of the arrangements and grandeur of "Oh Butterfly" by Ilaiyaraja. We also now hear some strong bass guitar strumming by Brandon Trent, and woodwinds in the background and it is the same Orchestra responsible for the latter. The stanza is a way both these masters Haricharan and Ramesh showcase their skills with Hari showing his vocal range and Malayalam diction, and Ramesh enabling a wonderful tune with even better arrangements especially the strings in the background. The interjection of strings, woodwinds and Keys just takes the song into a different orbit altogether and there are immense contributions from Ajith A George on sound design and Music Programmer Sheron Roy Gomez. The sound engineers are Romy, Vybav, Bharath Arjunan and Pranay with Sujith Sreedhar on mixing and mastering. The second interlude feels like a separate chapter in a symphony and things start off from where they left at the end of the first stanza. Haricharan sounds even freer and tries to improvise with mild vibrato, compared to the first stanza. 

 

2. Madhura Jeeva Ragam 

Music: Alphons Joseph

Lyrics: Joe Paul 

Singer: Mridula Varrier

Music Programming: Aby Tom Cyriac 

Language: Malayalam

Genre: Melody

People I knew loved the movie 'Sundari Gardens', and it has Aparna Balamurali who not only has show potential as an actress but also a singer. This beautiful number is composed by Alphons Joseph and sung by Mridula Varrier, with lyrics by Joe Paul. Nikhil Ram plays the flute and the keys are played by Aby Tom Cyriac who handles the programming, mixing and mastering. Mridula's honey-soaked vocals take away all the pains and burdens of life as she sings with impeccable ease and when you wait a bit to hear the title line you are lifted into the heavens. Anu Thomas backs up as vocalist in the harmonies and the whole song feels like a walk in the Japanese Tea Gardens thanks to the tonality of the instruments and production. Nithin Sabu Johnson is the sound engineer with Anandu Pai, Amal S Varghese, Sreehari Raveendran and Feiga Meiphullung Gangmei assisting. The stanza has Mridula reaching into the higher scales and when you hear the strings, flute and rhythm programming and arrangements it is pure delight and shows why Mollywood music space is making the rest of the country feel left out, especially a deficit-stricken world of Bollywood. The outro segment with all the programming, vocals and flute brings a smile to your face. 

3. Wajah 

Singer: Pawandeep Rajan & Arunita Kanjilal 

Music: Ashish Kulkarni 

Lyrics: Rahul Kale 

I have known Ashish Kulkarni since 2020 and I have been featuring his singles much before he shot to fame in Indian Idol, and it is not only his singing but his composition abilities as well. It is nice to see him provide an opportunity to two other co-contestants at the Indian Idol in Pawandeep Rajan & Arunita Kanjilal for the vocal leads in this number. It is Madhab Deka that shines in the beginning with the grand arrangements of Strings and rhythms and as the lead singers perform the closing stages of the opening lines sound as good as Ajay-Atul's "Yad lagla". It is just before the interlude that we hear Arunita sing a beautiful portion that sounds and feels like Raag Bilawal. The interlude has layers of Violins and Keys accompanying which give a very sober and "pathos" setting to the song. The composition is not straightforward at all, and one can hear all the unpredictable notes in the stanza which is why Ashish can pat himself on the back for trusting himself and not compromising with a mediocre and run-of-the-mill tune. The track needs a lot of effort in mixing and mastering the various segments and layers and this is where Rupjit Das comes into play. The recording engineers are Mrinal Das, Rahul Dayal and Pankaj Kaushik. 

 4. Pukaare 

Composed and sung by: Madhubanti Bagchi

Lyricist: Ginny Diwan 

Music produced by: Siddharth Amit Bhavsar 

Language: Hindi

Genre: Indie-pop

It is not the first time I am hearing and featuring Madhubanti Bagchi, and after almost a year she is back in my weekly India charts with a stunning indie pop number. It is also interesting to observe a sensational lyricist in Ginny Diwan who Madhubanti herself nicely addresses as her favourite bardess. The song has a very 1990s tonality to it like something that would emerge in a song from Sting. The guitars are resplendent and who else but Ritaprabha Ray and Ishan Das can come up with such sexy strumming? Madhu's tone is a mix of a sweet and a slightly coarse voice which makes the lower-scale notes that much better to listen to, and has this Shilpa Rao texture overall. Siddharth Amit Bhavsar plays no mean role in this song as he is the producer and if you listen to the song's sound it has some excellent rhythm and keyboard programming. I love how the decibel levels and arrangements drop at the beginning of the stanza, when all focus needs to be on the melody and the sharp and emotional delivery of the lines by Madhu. The stanza feels fresh and it has some excellent chords that remind you of the style adopted by Salim-Sulaiman for their scores. Oh and I love the way the stanza ends and the chords progress into the opening lines. Pankaj Borah has mixed and mastered the track at the Pavel Areen Studio. The introduction of the humming at the end is a nice addition to the guitars and rhythms. 

 

5. Kelu Nee

Composed and produced by: Narayan Sharma 

Singer: Narayan Sharma 

Lyrics by: Nagarjun Sharma

Language: Kannada

Genre: Melody, Semi-classical fusion

Some of these musicians are really having a ball and I love it when the same album has a couple or more songs of superior quality. This movie "Nodi Swamy Ivanu Irode Heege", has 2 songs in the week's charts just like the Malayalam movie "Bermuda". Narayan Sharma has been a regular on my page and that is no surprise because he is one of the brightest musicians India has. He is a singer, Violinist and composer as well and he brings in all these facets to the forefront. The song is performed, composed and produced by Narayan with Palee Francis (from WCMT)and Narayan coming together and doing the programming. The initial Ukulele as well as guitars are played by WCMT's Achyuth Jaigopal who also does the music supervision for the track. Observe the bass lines gradually gain ground as the song progresses. I was stunned when the Violin intervenes and it is such a classical interjection into the scheme of things making the song precious within the first 1 minute. After this you will be surprised to hear the title line in a pop style with fast-paced guitars, that is some skilful composition. Narayan excels in delivering the song as he shows his wide vocal range as well. There is a jugalbandi with the Violin notes just following and playing catchup with the vocals. The outro has even better arrangements thanks to the vocal harmonies and catchy rhythms. The track is mixed by Palee Francis and mastered by Vivek Thomas. Nagarjun Sharma is the lyricist. 

 
6. Taxi Driver

Vocals, Lyrics, Composition: Prerona

Producer: Zuboski 

Language: English

Genre: Alt-pop

When Prerona reached out to me asking if I could listen to a new song, I began to without any expectations. Man, Did I get bamboozled by his vocals and the production. This is steamy thanks to the vocal texture and Prerona does a fine job in delivering the vocals with that uber-cool attitude. Just listen to him express  with a sensational set of lungs in the line "Right into the water, sick". Watch out for that drop in drop in pitch for the word 'sick'. I must appreciate the brilliant lines written by Prerona, and these are signs of a star in the making. Amidst the ordinary poetry I come across daily, he stands tall. Check out this line both lyrically and musically and it wants me to keep playing it on a loop, "So play your nightly hymns, I need a religion tonight". The acoustic and bass guitars are just fabulous layers but Zuboski kills it every second with his production. The keyboards and electric guitars come and play a mild interlude near the 3rd minute and then we have Prerona's vocals along with Anubis on backing vocals all through. Art-work is by Soham Joshi and Yaamini. The mixing is done by Zuboski who has also co-composed the track, and mastering is done at Gray Spark Audio. 

 

 7. Sab Kuchh

Singer - B Praak 

Lyrics & Composer - Jaani 

Music - B Praak 

Language: Punjabi

Genre: Melody

People who read my page know that I have always been a huge fan of B.Praak as a singer and producer. The fits time as a music reviewer I came across Jaani and B.Praak as composer-producer-lyricist was back in 2019 when I heard the amazing album of "Sufna". This time "Moh" is another testament to the great work these guys are doing in the field of Music in the Punjabi space. I will be doing an EP review of "Moh" pretty soon as I love 3 songs at least in it. This song is B.Praak's fantastic vocals being displayed and there is non like him to emotionally deliver a song. The flute by Paras Nath and the synth and keyboard programming by Gaurav Dev & Kartik Dev is mindblowing. We can also hear some strings in the background and it is this keen sense of arrangement that elevates the quality of the song. There is never a wrong foot kept in the song as every element like the Keys, rhythms and harmonies works so brilliantly to take the listener into an alternative space of tranquillity. The track is mixed and mastered by Gurjinder Guri and Akash Bambar. 

8. Hona Mere 

Composer & Singer - Dhvani Bhanushali 

Music Producer – Abhijit Vaghani 

Lyrics - Rashmi Virag 

Language: Hindi

Genre: Ballad

Combinations work, and one can remember the last time when Dhvani Bhansuhali and Abhijit Vaghani worked together to give us that smashing number called "Radha". I sometimes get a little critical when singers pick bad songs to be a part of, like when Dhvani sings songs like "Candy" for Yuvan, and I feel even stronger about it when I hear some fantastic numbers like 'Hona Mere' coming from her own repertoire. Shomu Seal plays the guitars and we also have a layer of electric guitar mildly playing in the background. The strumming sets a very mysterious tone and Dhvani's vocals carry that extra bit of sadness meant in the song's messaging. This is a song on the protagonist thinking about her lover who she is separated from, so all these elements aptly create the scene. I am astounded by her vocal abilities and check out what she does when the line goes" Meri taraf mudh bhi ja", and the vibrato and attitude she brings forward with her voice is spectacular. Abhijit gets all the elements right, with the introduction of the Violins in the background, as nothing speaks pathos like that instrument. Abhijit's programming on keyboards and rhythms is perfect and he chooses moments of pause quite effectively. The track is mixed and mastered by Aftab Khan with Vatsal Chevli as the mixing assistant. The endearing and emotional lyrics are written by Rashmi Virag and the words convey the deep longing as much as the tune, singing and production.

9. Belakali 

Music Composed, Arranged and Programmed by: Joe Costa

Lyrics: Ramenahalli Jagannatha 

Singer: Joe Costa 

Language: Kannada

Genre: Semi-classical Melody

We have a massive list of regional songs this week, especially from the south, and this Kannada number is another semi-classical-sounding melody it is, even more, special because it comes from a composer I have not featured before today. Joe has composed, programmed, arranged and even performed the number with the lyrics penned by Ramenahalli Jagannatha. The song is from the Kannada movie 'Hondisi Bareyiri' and it has some stalwarts working as instrumentalists like Narayan Sharma on the Violin, Bhutto on Flute, and Varun Murali on guitars. The flute in the intro is pleasant and invokes feelings of divinity and I probably sensed some Ragam Kalyani (Yaman in Hindustani). It is accompanied by acoustic and bass guitars and Joe has a voice that suits the semi-classical style quite well. Narayan who already has his own composition in this week plays the stunning Violin solo in the interlude. Joe and Jathin Dharshan who have worked on the programming get the Keys and rhythm programming well executed. The second interlude is pure class with the flute in multiple layers and the Tabla by Venugopala Raju. Warren D Costa plays the additional guitars and the chorus we hear is from Manasa Holla and team. Abin Paul does the mixing and mastering. Towards the end of the second stanza there is a segment with the chorus, and the heart just swells in joy hearing this beautiful segment. 

10. Shomudrer Dheu

Music Director and Creative Producer: Neet Dutt 

vocals: Durnibar Saha, Somlata Acharyya Chowdhury

Lyrics : Neet Dutt, Anjan Dutt

Language: Bangla

Genre: Alt-rock

To break the pattern of melodies and semi-classical stuff, we have one Bangla song here that tilts well into the alternative Rock genre laden heavily with the Piano. Neet Dutt is the composer and producer of the song from the movie"Murder by the Sea". The lyrics are by Neet and Anjan Dutt and we have two fabulous vocalists in Durnibar Saha and Somlata Acharyya Chowdhury taking over the lead roles. The song feels like Elton John's"Believe", in the tone and the Piano and Electric guitar arrangements. The vocalists not only sing perfectly in their solo bits, but even when they combine in harmony. The electric solo closer to the 3rd- minute mark is an inspiring moment that also adds to the mystery of the title. 

11. Palthu Janwar

Music by Justin Varghese 

Lyrics : Suhail Koya 

Singers : Tanvi & Drisya Anil

Music Producers: Anoop Nirichan & Justin Varghese 

Language: Kannada

Genre: Folk Fusion

Justin Varghese is undoubtedly one of India's finest and what separates him from the crowd is that he can compose a stunning melody as well as a whacky unpredictable number with equal ease fn frequency. He and Santhosh Narayanan are probably the only two in the country who can claim to be gifted with this ability. This song sounds like a folk song from Kerala with modern elements fused but you can never predict what turns the song is about to take or what sounds keep hitting you from the programming standpoint. Anoop Niricharan and Justin produce it with lead singers Tanvi & Drisya Anil. Let us not forget to appreciate the chorus team involving Josephine's kids Karukutty ( Avirbhav, Rosewin, Poornima.S, Elna Maria, Sreejimol, Jovia Joy, Biya Jobi, Catherin Sijo, Angana Dileep, Sriya Santhosh, Aleesha P Jilson, Ansa Rose, Neha Maria Seby, Anitta Mol) Thyagaraja Kalalayam Students ( Shreyas C.S, Shane Waugh Sebastian. The rhythms and percussion sound so pristine and earthy and after the first few seconds, it is just a brilliant concoction of Justin's ideas. Anoop mixes and masters the track while the recording engineers are HK, Amith Bal, Justin Varghese & Manzoor Mahamood. The multiple percussion instruments along with some woodwinds make for one delightful experience. Suhail Koya is the lyricist. 

12. Nee Orindrajalame 

Singer: Madhushree Narayan 

Music Composer: Ramesh Narayan 

Lyric: Vinayak Sasikumar

Language: Malayalam

Genre: Melody

Here we have the second song from the album 'Bermuda' composed by the master Ramesh Narayan and this time it is his daughter Madhushree Narayan who serenades us. Keba Jeremiah plays the acoustic guitars and all the Wood and String instruments are played by the INspired Symphony Orchestra of Budapest. Sheron Roy Gomez does all the programming but it is Jordan Cannata on the live drums. The woodwinds are aplenty and it takes a champion composer to even visualise, arrange and execute this. A wonderful fee-good melody that also offers you so much to enjoy as a music-lover. The sound engineers are Romy, Vybav, Bharath Arjunan and Pranay and the mixing and mastering are done by Sujith Sreedhar @ 2 Bar Q Studios

13. Angel

Written by Prabhtoj Singh 

Vocals and Classical Guitar: Prabhtoj Singh 

Producer: Aman Sagar

Language: English

Genre: Jazz

When a truly talented musician comes along, you start expecting more and the bar keeps rising ever higher. Prabhtoj Singh has kept living up to those massive expectations and delivers musically. An exponent on the Piano, Rythem Bansal plays it with absolute mastery and you get sucked into the song with the Trumpets by Fortuna. We are transported to the 1960s when great western music by artists like Frank Sinatra sounded like this. Prabhtoj might be the man behind the vocals and classical guitar but it has all the making of an Aman Sagar production as he also plays the drums ever so mildly and the strings in the background. The strings are arranged with such fine precision that they never disturb the focus away from Prabhtoj's words and vocals but for the keen listener, they add endless poise. Sonic Shori is the bassist and we have some mildly arranged harmonies as well. Aman does the mixing and the song is recorded by Prabhtoj at Renaissance Records and mastered by Andres Mayo. A song like this gets thunderous appreciation thanks to the vision and execution of the production and arrangements.

 

14. Jaisa Tum Chaho

Sung and composed by Ali Brothers 

Music - RS Kaushik - Surtal Kulaar 

Language: Hindi

Genre: Melody

The lovely setting of probably the sun going down and the wedding ceremony about to begin. This owing to the sounds of the Shehnai playing a mild Raag Hanmsadhwani maybe. The Ali Brothers have composed and sung this rousing melody produced by RS Kaushik and Surtal Kulaar. A melody without ornamentation would not end up sounding as brilliant, and that is why the song sticks to your mind. The beautiful guitar chords add a layer of romance and love better than even words. The Ali brothers maybe have a similar tonality, but the voices are distinct. The Keys are mild and intervene just at the right instances. R Kaushik does the mixing and mastering

15. Vaikuntake Savaari 

Music Composed, Arranged and Orchestrated by: Prasanna Sivaraman Lyrics: Nagarjun Sharma 

Singer: Mahesh Raghunandan

Language: Kannada

Genre: Melody

A model where different composers come together to score for a single movie album need not always work. But for this movie "Nodi Swamy Ivanu Irode Heege", certainly, as we had Narayan Sharma with the previous song on his weekly charts and this time it is Prasanna Sivaraman composing, arranging and orchestrating. We have solid guitars and Keys opening up things in this number and I am delighted to see Indie singer-songwriter, Mahesh Raghunandan lend his voice for this. The song is aided by some fabulous harmonies with additional singers Pancham Jeeva, Hrishi Brahma and Prasanna Sivaraman himself. Rajdeep Das plays the guitars and the song is mixed by A Vairavasan and mastered by Todd. The drums and all rhythm programming too are adrenaline-pumping good. The best segment is the humming " thanan dham naa naa naa" probably set in Raag Abheri. The recording engineer is Hrishi Brahma. Mahesh's singing style and attitude are almost sounding inebriated but it sounds cool. This is one whacky song with lyrics by Nagarjun Sharma 

16. Daak Eshe Jaay 

Artist: Rajdeep Mukherjee 

Music Director: Mayookh Bhaumik 

Music arrangement: Mayookh Bhaumik 

Lyricist: Ritam Sen 

It is a very haunting semi-classical number composed by National Award-winning composer and Tabla player Mayookh Bhaumik. He has composed, arranged and produced this one with lyrics by Ritam Sen, and sung with fantastic vigour by Rajdeep Mukherjee. There are segments where I am reminded of Raag Kanada and those are the best lines in the song. Later when I had a word with the singer, he tells me that there are traces of Raag Sahana. The mild percussions can be heard when Rajdeep sings alone and the drums add over with the title line sung along with harmonies. The guitars keep things calmer and I love the interlude which sounds like listening to the "Love theme" from 'The Godfather'. The stanza is walk in the park mild, and tender and these variations in the song make it interesting to listen to. Ritam Sen is the lyricist 

17. Ajnabee Ho Gaye 

Singer: Armaan Malik 

Composer - Rahul Jain 

Lyricist - Kunaal Vermaa 

We end this week with a very typical melody from Bollywood, but let that not fool you. The song was composed by Rahul Jain and sung with exquisite taste by one of India's finest singers today, Armaan Malik. The emotions that he brings out with his delivery is something even many top performers lack especially in Bollywood. The Sarangi in the interlude is sombre and really squeezes in all the Pathos possible, and maybe there is a hint of Raag Yamunakalyani. Kunaal Vermaa pens the lyrics. Soham Naik has produced, mixed and mastered the track and so he gets all the arrangements to go perfectly with the mood of the track. The second interlude has a mild solo on the Flute and we have the stanza once again that keeps us hooked and involved. The recording engineer is Ameya Londhe.